Demon- A Fairy Tail One-Shot
by kleptokalon
Summary: Natsu is taken over by E.N.D. Can the others bring him back?


Natsu stared at the light of Nirvana shooting into the sky. It rushed up like a torrent of water going down, except this time it was rising at rapid speeds. He knew what Nirvana was, heck he was quite smart despite his reckless attitude. And he knew what Nirvana would do to him. His brother, Zeref, had warned him so. The others also looked on, but not from fear, like he was. No, it was innocent wonder and surprise.

A stabbing pain erupted in his head. He collapsed on his knees and clutched at his hair. His screech of agony pierced their ears. He continued to wail, bowing against the grass, feeling bile rise in his throat. He pushed it down, and pulled at his hair. Footsteps came before him, and he raised his eyes to see Erza. She was extruding shock, and her eyes only showed worry. He dropped down again, breathing hard and trying to ignore the pain. Erza's hand locked onto his shoulder, and she began to whisper things he couldn't register.

"Your hair! It's going white!" he heard Lucy scream. Indeed, snowy locks of hair fell over his eyes, and his skin was going paler by the second. He shuddered. Zeref had warned him. His memories, which he had kept unlike the other dragon slayers, were full of warnings and stories. About him. He was E.N.D and if no one killed him now, then the strongest demon would be unleashed.

Gasping, Natsu raised his head and looked straight into Erza's eyes. His own were completely red, black lines like lightning crossing through them. No doubt he looked every bit the demon he really was. "Kill me." he begged. Everyone protested immediately. He was their family, and no way would they abandon him to the clutches of Death.

"We could never do that, Natsu." Erza frowned. His condition was steadily worsening and the pain was growing immensely. He groaned and rose to his feet. He staggered. Erza was there right away, holding him up as he screamed.

"You don't understand!" he moaned desperately. "If you don't kill me I will destroy everyone and everything. I'm a demon, Zeref's strongest weapon, created only to kill him!" he tried. Erza shook her head, not willing to believe it. Natsu was always a dark person, hidden in secrets. But surely he wasn't actually a demon?

He yelled as a new bout of fire shot through his skull. He pushed Erza away and black fire surrounded him in an impenetrable cloak. "Please kill me! KILL ME BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! PLEASE!" he cried. Erza teared up, standing protectively in front of the others. She would fight him; bring him back to his self. "YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!" he screamed at them. He couldn't breathe in this suffocating blanket of darkness. Why wouldn't they kill him!?

His body moved of its own accord. The demon had taken over, and all he could do was watch what he did. Every sickening action to come would scar his mind. He tried to regain control, but the hold of his demonic power drowned him. Natsu was defeated, and there was nothing he could do. Why did this have to happen?

Erza re-quipped into her Flame Empress Armour and shot forward, sword clashing against his flames. He was no longer straining, the demon moved without hesitation, striking at Erza with a clawed hand. He leaped at speeds that surpassed Erza's, and struck down Lucy. She screamed as blood sprayed from long claw-marks across her chest. Then Hibiki Wendy, Carla and Gray. Happy had somehow avoided the attacks, and now crouched beside his fallen comrades, hopelessly calling for them to get up. He turned his glazed eyes at Natsu, who felt his heart shatter.

Natsu blocked an attack from Erza's sword with a scaled hand. He felt wings sprout from his back, shredded from his own magic. Broken dragon wings. His talons elongated, and his arms resembled a dragon more and more. The power of E.N.D combined with a Fire Dragon's. It was Hell on Earth. He widened his stance, a small crater forming beneath him. Cracks littered the earth, the ground unstable and shattered.

Erza kept on striking him with no success. He blocked every attack with barely a flinch. She was crying too, they all were. Natsu's tears had long since dried up, the final shred of him gone. She was smacked away by Natsu's wing and crashed into a dying tree. His magic was like Death Magic. Everything was dying, and so long as Nirvana continued to change him, everything would die.

Erza dropped from the trunk and fell to the scorched grass. She stumbled to her feet and looked at him with one eye half closed and face covered in blood. "Natsu," she whispered, "I know you're in there. Give us a sign. Defeat him and come back to us." Blood dripped from her sword arm. The demon stopped as Natsu began to fight back, tearing apart his own consciousness. They need me, he growled. The growl reverberated through the ground, echoing off the nearby cliffs. He made the demon stop moving and Erza almost smiled.

His control slipped, and the demon launched at Erza, a roar erupting from everywhere. She was pushed back. Even re-equipping into her Purgatory Armour couldn't stop the path of destruction. She flew back and dodged Natsu's first blow. But the second caught her side. She screamed. Her pain allowed Natsu to try again. His claws gripped into imprisoning walls, breaking them into millions of pieces. He forced his way into the world like a ghost of himself.

A faint outline came into the clearing and locked into battle with E.N.D. Erza watched in shock as the true Natsu appeared before her. He shielded her and grabbed at the demon's hands, pushing against them to force it back. They exchanged rapid blows that Erza's eyes couldn't keep up with. Natsu launched a punch at the demon's abdomen, wind rushing around them. E.N.D spat blood onto the grass and screamed. Natsu fell, his body fading again as the demon reeled him in. He opened his eyes to see out of E.N.D's and cursed. But the demon had weakened, hopefully giving Erza a better chance.

As she shot towards him, the sky lightened in a burst of godly fire. It came from near Nirvana. The torrent of its magic overcame Nirvana's making it slow down and thin out. Someone was destroying it. It was their last hope to bring him back. Facing his opponent again, Natsu managed to block Erza's strongest blow yet. His appearance had given her strength.

She struck him with her sword, slashing wherever she could, and each hit landed. Natsu could feel every wound, but that didn't matter. If that's what it took to defeat him, then he would gladly take it a thousandfold. Nirvana weakened, and her own magic strengthened. As the dark light dispersed, E.N.D's power did as well. His cloak of flames lightened, returning to its normal orange. Natsu felt his limbs. And he was in control again.

He gasped as the presence of the strongest thing on Earthland disappeared. He collapsed, and felt his blood seep into the soil. Evidence of his carnage was everywhere. Everything was dead, except for his comrades. He cried in relief as they woke up. Wendy, despite her exhaustion, immediately began healing wounds. He lay a little way away from them. Maybe they could leave him. He didn't deserve them. But they would never abandon him.

Wendy came to him last, slightly fearful. He hated that. They shouldn't be scared of him. Erza came up too, helping Natsu sit up. He relaxed as Wendy healed his most serious wounds, the pain fading away. The others came up too, sitting beside him as if nothing had happened. Because that was Fairy Tail, always back on their feet after every battle, as happy and cheery as ever. Natsu felt tears slipping down again. His skin had returned to normal, and he bet his eyes had too. He was a demon no longer, and he would take every step to keep it that way.

"Your hair is still white." Gray commented. His voice was void of abnormality. Natsu laughed. They were truly safe. Safe and alive. Even if his guilt would never leave him, their presence would keep him from despair. The white hair was no biggie. In fact, he probably looked great with it.

"That is fine with me," Natsu smirked, "it is a reminder. Of today." They all smiled. Erza erupted into a fit of giggling, everyone joining in. They embraced. They cried. This experience was something that had brought them together. Its memories would never leave them. Today would never leave them.


End file.
